Even as the rising human-animal conflict is keeping the State on tenterhooks with an uptick in loss of lives due to elephant attacks in Wayanad, Idukki and other vulnerable areas of the State, there is a considerable increase in tourist footfall and the revenue netted in ecotourism centres in these regions. The State is also devising plans to attract more tourists to these destinations without taking into account the impact on wildlife and its habitat in protected and reserve forest areas.
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According to the statistics available with the Forest department, there are 71 ecotourism destinations in the State and these destinations generated a revenue of ₹56.80 crore in 2023 alone, while the revenue was ₹39.57 crore in 2022 and ₹17.80 crore in 2021. Further, the State government has decided to form the Kerala Forest Eco-Tourism Development Authority in a bid to attract more tourists to these destinations by linking ecotourism destinations inside the State and providing better amenities to tourists by scaling up infrastructure and other facilities. The process to form eco-tourism circuits is on the anvil, according to Forest department sources.
Speaking to The Hindu, N. Badusha, president, Wayanad Prakruthi Samrakshana Samithi, who approached the High Court seeking a directive to close down the ecotourism destinations in Wayanad, said there is a sharp decline in wild animals entering human habitations within days of the High Court directive to close down the ecotourism centres in Wayanad until further orders from the court on February 29.
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Lack of studies, guidelines
The State government has been promoting mass tourism in these destinations without even conducting a study on the carrying capacity of each destination and its impact on wildlife. The State also lacks ecotourism guidelines to regulate the mushrooming industry in the forest and forest fringes. The unrestricted entry of humans into the habitats of wild animals, especially during the summer, will provoke the animals already affected by fodder and drinking water shortages, forcing them to enter human habitations, said Mr. Badusha.
For instance, hundreds of vehicles were allowed in the core of Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary in the name of eoctourism even though the sanctuary serves as a home to hundreds of migrating elephants from Sathyamangalam, Bandipur and Muthumala during the summer. The infamous wildfire at Chembra peak, one of the highest peaks in the Western Ghats and an adventure tourism spot, was the result of unbridled tourism inside the forest, in which more than 50 hectares of grasslands were destroyed, he added.
Be it in Wayanad, Idukki, or other vulnerable areas, the ecotourism centres should be closed down immediately, said the Samithi. Though the scheme is meant to provide livelihood means for tribals in these areas, the ecotourism projects are hijacked by industry giants and the resort mafia, they alleged. Munnar Wildlife Division is the highest revenue earning division for the Forest department.